Benchmarking the Resilience of Sexual and Reproductive Health Supply Chains Amidst the Arab Region’s Polycrises
1
Supply Chain Management Unit, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Arab States Regional Office, Cairo, Egypt
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A3459
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
In the Arab States, health systems operate on the frontline of a "polycrisis" landscape defined by protracted conflict, fiscal constraints, and climate shocks.¹ While resilient supply chains are prerequisites for accessing essential sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, these systems are frequently deprioritized in humanitarian settings despite being critical for preventing maternal deaths.² Models designed for stable contexts often collapse under blockades and infrastructure destruction, severing lifelines to vulnerable populations.³ The assessment aimed to evaluate supply chain (SC) performance across seven core domains, identify structural bottlenecks in fragile and stable contexts, and provide evidence-based recommendations to transition from humanitarian stopgaps toward sustainable national systems.⁴
METHODS:
Between August and December 2025, the study deployed a modified Supply Chain Compass (SCC)—integrating parameters for "emergency preparedness" and "system adaptability"—across 14 UNFPA program countries (rated 1=nascent to 5=optimized).¹ Data were triangulated from the Ministry of Health focal points and UNFPA teams, contrasting high-stability contexts (e.g. Jordan, Morocco) against active conflict zones (e.g. Yemen, Palestine, Sudan).
RESULTS:
Regional SC maturity averages 2.8/5, masking profound disparities. High-maturity systems (Jordan 3.9, Morocco 3.8) utilize institutionalized resilience—like Jordan’s integrated warehousing—to absorb demographic shocks.¹ In contrast, conflict zones (Palestine 1.6, Libya 1.8) remain trapped in emergency mode, characterized by donor dependency and missing strategies (70% of countries). Governance was the primary weakness (2.4/5); contingency planning is absent in eight countries. While international support buoys procurement (3.3/5), human resource fragility (2.5/5) paralyzes last-mile delivery during crises.
CONCLUSIONS:
Safeguarding SRH access in the arab region’s polycrises requires a shift from purely technical logistics fixes to systemic governance reform.⁵ The data indicate that resilience is a function of integrated policy: domestic financing, digitized visibility, and formalized emergency protocols. Three strategic pivots are recommended: establishing multi-sectoral supply chain coordination committees, implementing regional pooled procurement, and institutionalizing digital dashboards for proactive stock distribution.
In the Arab States, health systems operate on the frontline of a "polycrisis" landscape defined by protracted conflict, fiscal constraints, and climate shocks.¹ While resilient supply chains are prerequisites for accessing essential sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, these systems are frequently deprioritized in humanitarian settings despite being critical for preventing maternal deaths.² Models designed for stable contexts often collapse under blockades and infrastructure destruction, severing lifelines to vulnerable populations.³ The assessment aimed to evaluate supply chain (SC) performance across seven core domains, identify structural bottlenecks in fragile and stable contexts, and provide evidence-based recommendations to transition from humanitarian stopgaps toward sustainable national systems.⁴
METHODS:
Between August and December 2025, the study deployed a modified Supply Chain Compass (SCC)—integrating parameters for "emergency preparedness" and "system adaptability"—across 14 UNFPA program countries (rated 1=nascent to 5=optimized).¹ Data were triangulated from the Ministry of Health focal points and UNFPA teams, contrasting high-stability contexts (e.g. Jordan, Morocco) against active conflict zones (e.g. Yemen, Palestine, Sudan).
RESULTS:
Regional SC maturity averages 2.8/5, masking profound disparities. High-maturity systems (Jordan 3.9, Morocco 3.8) utilize institutionalized resilience—like Jordan’s integrated warehousing—to absorb demographic shocks.¹ In contrast, conflict zones (Palestine 1.6, Libya 1.8) remain trapped in emergency mode, characterized by donor dependency and missing strategies (70% of countries). Governance was the primary weakness (2.4/5); contingency planning is absent in eight countries. While international support buoys procurement (3.3/5), human resource fragility (2.5/5) paralyzes last-mile delivery during crises.
CONCLUSIONS:
Safeguarding SRH access in the arab region’s polycrises requires a shift from purely technical logistics fixes to systemic governance reform.⁵ The data indicate that resilience is a function of integrated policy: domestic financing, digitized visibility, and formalized emergency protocols. Three strategic pivots are recommended: establishing multi-sectoral supply chain coordination committees, implementing regional pooled procurement, and institutionalizing digital dashboards for proactive stock distribution.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
